Supply Chain Strategy and Management

Supply Chain Strategy and Management

3/28/12Latest Blog Post

Excerpt from the Book review of David Simchi-Levi’s Operations Rules in Interfaces by Luk Van Wasssenhove INSEAD, Technology and Operations Management, This is an excellent book! The reader who is truly interested in operations management should consider buying it. It is insightful, deep but not technical, to the point, and illustrated with many interesting examples. I believe it […]

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August 2018 Archive

TradeLens is a neutral industry platform that uses blockchain technology to promote a more predictable and secure exchange of information between major industry players. That capability can break information silos, streamline business processes, and maximize asset utilization. Parties that stand to benefit from the approach include shippers, shipping lines, freight forwarders, port and terminal operators, and inland transportation and customs authorities. Those organizations can use the secure platform to exchange real-time information such as shipping data and shipping documents, including internet of things (IoT) and sensor data ranging from temperature control to container weight.

Apple’s retail stores collect cash from customers quickly, it is ruthless on keeping inventory low, and it takes forever to pay suppliers. In the process, Apple’s operations are extremely effective cash generators. This is no coincidence. It is the result of the canny supply chain that Tim Cook built. In effect, Apple has largely been financed on the backs of its suppliers, who are willing to hold their inventory and wait more than 100 days to get paid, just for the pleasure of doing business with Apple.

Fast-fashion giant Zara is equipping its stores to also ship online purchases, betting that the move will boost sales of full-priced items that can be delivered to customers more quickly than from a warehouse. The rollout encompasses around 2,000 stores in 48 countries, including the U.S., making it one of the largest-scale attempts by an apparel company to repurpose downtown shops to help fulfill online orders.